The turmoil surrounding Aston Villa deepened last night when David O'Leary revealed that the players had lodged an official request to meet Doug Ellis to "discuss their concerns" following the release of Friday's statement which heavily criticised the chairman's regime. The players' response to the club's denials at the weekend comes as a major embarrassment to Villa, who immediately announced they would be holding an internal inquiry into the original statement.

Ellis will not be part of the investigation that will look into what the club referred to as "the circumstances surrounding the recent publication of a so-called player statement which was allegedly supported by the entire first-team squad". It is understood that the chairman is behind the inquiry, though, and is anxious to discover how the story evolved. O'Leary has distanced himself from any suggestion that he set wheels in motion despite several papers interpreting Ellis's comment at the weekend - "I am not talking but I think you can guess who has instigated all this" - as aimed at the Villa manager.

Villa's operations director Steve Stride and non-executive directors David Owen and Steven Kind will make up the three-man panel charged with establishing how many of Villa's first-team players contributed to the statement as well as its origins. "The inquiry intends to establish the facts surrounding the events of recent days and this will include meetings with the players," said a statement on the Villa website. "There will be no further comment from the club until the inquiry is completed."

Villa have attempted to play down the remarks within the original players' statement, which accused the chairman of holding back the club's progress through his financial prudence, by insisting that it was not released on behalf of the entire first-team squad. That defence was weakened after yesterday morning's meeting at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground, however. It was decided then that the players' disquiet was such that they should seeks answers from the chairman through a face-to-face meeting.

"There are a few players going to sort things out," said the Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie, moments after O'Leary released a statement to Sky Sports. "The players wish to meet the chairman at his earliest convenience to discuss their concerns over issues that were raised at the weekend," said the Villa manager. "My own position is that I feel it would be unwise for me to comment publicly until the outcome of the meeting and I shall continue to concentrate on the club's pre-season preparations."

Ellis is out of the country at the moment and has given no indication as to whether he is willing to meet the request, although it is highly unlikely that he will grant the players an opportunity to question his regime. He has already seen his hold on power destabilised through the content of Friday's statement which noted, somewhat embarrassingly, how the chairman would not sanction the cost of a cup of coffee on the club physiotherapist's expenses claim. By meeting the players now, he would be seen to be bowing to their demands.

That might be inconceivable for Ellis, but he will be mindful that the current problem is not about to go away. Many of Villa's supporters campaigned for the departure of both the manager and the chairman during last season but their focus in the wake of the players' statement has turned predominantly to Ellis. O'Leary's stock has not risen, though fans on internet message boards and through letters and emails to local papers have thrown their support behind the players, effectively uniting against the chairman.

A way out for Ellis could yet emerge if he is able to uncover evidence through the inquiry that O'Leary instigated the events of last Friday. The Villa chairman might then be in a position to dismiss the Irishman on the grounds that he is in breach of contract, saving him a costly settlement figure, in the region of £2m, and initiating a change at the top that would bring to an end their turbulent three-year relationship. O'Leary, however, insists he knew nothing about the statement.

Something has to give, however, before Villa's first game of the season against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on August 19. It is unimaginable that Villa could go into the new campaign with the current rift continuing. An internal inquiry and a players' question-and- answer session with the chairman was not on the pre-season agenda.